Trivandrum Surendran. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Mridangam exponent Trivandrum V Surendran was awarded the Sri Guruvayurappan Chembai Puraskaram in November this year. Surendran is the fourth recipient of the award since its inception in 2005 – the others being Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair, Guruvayur Dorai and Sivaraman of Umayalpuram. The award carries a citation, a memento, a gold medallion of 10 grams and a purse of Rs 50,001.
“The award is like a Padma Shri for me,” Surendran said with a sense of pride at the award ceremony. “My mentors Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair and Palakkad Mani Iyer have been my two eyes and I dedicate this award to them,” he said.
Velukutty Nair, Surendran’s first guru at Thiruvananthapuram’s Swathi Thirunal College of Music for the Ganabhushanam course, was a guide. He completed the course in 1962, and was selected by the Ministry of Culture, Delhi for a scholarship for higher studies. One of Mani Iyer’s senior most disciples, Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram was instrumental in taking Surendran to Mani Iyer for his higher studies.
Surendran with M. Balamuralikrishna. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 11 years he spent with Mani Iyer in Palakkad and Chennai molded Surendran into one of the torchbearers of the Thanjavur bani. He accompanied his guru to innumerable concerts. Surendran said, “The years I spent with ‘Swami’ (Mani Iyer) were a golden phase of my life.”
After a short stint in college as a teacher, Surendran passed an audition at All India Radio, Tiruchy and was appointed as staff artist at Kozhikode station in 1974. Guruvayur. In 1981, Surendran was posted to All India Radio Thiruvananthapuram, where he had the opportunity to accompany many stalwarts to the Navarathri Mandapam music festival.
Anyone who hears Surendran play the Mridangam is struck by the resonant tone of his instrument. He learned to maintain it from his ‘Swami’. Surendran still follows his mentor’s teaching – he takes maximum care to embellish the music and believes that the Thani should be a continuation of the main composition, strictly following Kalapramanam.
Surendran with Professors TN Krishnan and VIJ Krishnan at a music festival. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“But, I wonder if I can reproduce even a percentage of his artistry,” said Surendran, who has won several accolades including the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, the Chennai Sangeetha Natak Akademi Award for Young Artistes and the Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship. The recipient.
How does Surendran stay so energetic even at the age of 80? “All because of the Gurukul training. You are completely engrossed in learning, and any other thoughts are given a wide berth!